"Hey! Ichigo, wait up!"
"Hm? Oh, sorry Rukia." He said, turning to face her.
"I've been looking everywhere for you. Are you alright?" she asked, gasping for breath.
"I'm fine, just a little distracted, that's all."
"Distracted? Did something happen?" Rukia asked.
"Not really. What's it to you, anyway?"
"I was just worried, that's all," She said, taken aback by his irritation. "You haven't said much all day and then you just leave me back there at school. Ichigo, just tell me, what's wrong?" she pleaded.
"Rukia…" he sighed, "It's just-"
The sound of thunder interrupted him, lightning cracked the sky, and the rain began to fall. Rukia stood behind Ichigo, a look of concern on her face, waiting for him to answer her.
"It's nothing, Rukia. Don't worry about it." Ichigo said, turning away from her.
"Ichigo, stop!" she said, grabbing his hand.
"Hm?"
"You're not running away from me, Ichigo. Now, tell me." She said, tightening her grip on his hand.
"R-Rukia?" he stammered.
He looked at Rukia, her violet eyes burning with compassion and determination, and sighed. He's never seen her so upset before.
"Alright…I'll tell you." He whispered.
Rukia smiled. "Thank you."
"It's just that…tomorrow is the anniversary…of my mother's death." He said slowly.
Rukia stopped, her body going numb from head to toe.
"What? H-how could I have forgotten?" she thought
"I-Ichigo I…"
"It's alright," he said sincerely.
The rain began to come down harder, but the two remained frozen where they stood. Rukia began to tremble out of anger.
""I'm such a fool! How could I have possibly forgotten something like that? I should have known th-"
"Rukia, enough already, it's alright." Ichigo interrupted, pulling his hand out of hers as he walked away.
Rukia remained where she stood, her head down, fists tightly clenched, and her feet firmly planted on the ground.
"Ichigo…" she muttered, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Hey, come on now, why are you crying?"
Rukia looked up to see Ichigo standing before her, an umbrella now over his head and his hand outstretched towards her.
"I'm crying because you won't." she replied, ignoring his hand. "I'm crying because you won't do it, Ichigo. You won't do it, so I'll cry for you!"
Ichigo sighed and reached for her hand. "Get under here, Rukia, you'll catch a cold." He said, pulling her under the umbrella, making sure not to let go of her hand.
"Rukia, listen. Just because I'm not crying, that doesn't mean you have to cry for me. My mother's death is my burden to bear, not yours."
"You're wrong, Ichigo. It's just as much my burden as it is yours. I may not have known your mother, but that doesn't mean I can't mourn for her."
"Rukia, I-"
"I can't stand it, Ichigo. I can't stand watching you be in pain. So that's why I made a promise to myself to protect you from anything of anyone that tries to cause you harm."
"That's ridiculous," he said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I should be the one protecting you." He said.
"W-what?" Rukia stammered.
"You heard me. You don't honestly think I like to see you in pain either, do you? Why else would I have gone all the way to the Soul Society to keep you from dying?"
"You…I…"
"Rukia, I couldn't protect my mother that day, but I too made a promise. I promised I would protect anyone I could, and my first real test with that promise was rescuing you from certain death."
"Ichigo…" she said.
"And now, the next part of this test is protecting you from the rain." He said with a smile, putting his arm around her and pulling her close.
"You're an idiot, Ichigo." Rukia said with a smile.
Ichigo laughed. "You're welcome."
